Putnam County ratifies five-year CSEA contract; legislature approves $1.55 million transfer to fund raises

Putnam County legislators ratified a five-year collective bargaining agreement with the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) and approved a budget transfer of $1,550,803 from contingency to cover retroactive and 2025 salary and benefit costs.

Personnel Director Mister Eldridge told the Personnel Committee the CSEA unit, the county’s largest bargaining unit, covers approximately 340 to 350 employees and that negotiations began in the fall of 2023. He described a memorandum of agreement that runs retroactively to Jan. 1, 2024, through the end of 2028 and outlined increases and operational changes negotiated with the union.

Eldridge said the memorandum includes an unusual first-year structure that granted a salary-schedule increase plus a flat-dollar element ($850) for a portion of employees and then year-over-year percentage increases of 2.75 percent for 2025–2027 and 3 percent for 2028. He also highlighted several operational changes the county negotiated to protect taxpayer exposure: a reduction in the accrual cap for comp time from 240 to 175 hours for most employees (with a one-time payoff option for those above the new cap) and clarified eligibility rules for retiree health insurance buyouts to avoid prior court issues.

On retiree health insurance, Eldridge referenced an existing local resolution (Resolution 304 of 2019) that sets retiree contribution tiers; the memorandum codifies aspects of that policy while making clear the buyout is payable only to employees who were in the insurance plan at retirement.

Legislators questioned trade-offs in the agreement. One legislator asked what “givebacks” or cost controls the county obtained; Eldridge listed the comp-time cap reduction, clarified vehicle-driving reporting and summons/conviction reporting for employee drivers, adjustments to work schedules for specified titles, and other housekeeping clarifications intended to reduce future liabilities.

The Legislature approved the ratification by voice vote, and members also approved the related budgetary transfer of $1,550,803 from contingency to fund the retro pay and 2025 salary and benefit increases. Eldridge said the county’s commissioner of finance had prepared for this expense during the budget process so the transfer draws on monies previously set aside.

County staff said the agreement was overwhelmingly approved by union membership after in-person briefings in January and that the final MOA will be cleaned up and executed following legislative approval.